A blog with a lot of motorhome modifications, with a sprinkle of stuff about our grandtots and my fiber arts

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Sunday, November 29, 2009

After Thanksgiving is over….

Well, the kids came here and we had a feast, and watching little Jameson play and entertain us was a hit for the day. Our friends came from Michigan, Cella and Dave, and they made it through their Black Friday shopping in Green Bay. They found all they wanted to find, and came back to our house for a while too.

Jameson was playing, Heather was crocheting, Erin and Mark had the Rat Dog Grandpuppies over (their 2 chihuahuas) and Erin is busy growing her baby.

We pigged out, split up leftovers and sat up late telling stories….

On Saturday, I decided to finish up the fringes on a rug that I had woven before my hospital stay. This one is a favorite type of mine to weave… I call them Birch Tree Rugs. The nubby texture of the material reminds me of birch bark.

What is interesting, is that these rugs are made of…. recycled sock loopers! They are the factory waste from making sport socks, which normally go in a landfill. My friend, Barb Barnett in Iowa http://www.butler-bremer.com/web/bbarn/index.html from down in Plainfield Iowa purchases huge bales of these sock loopers. From there she bags them up and resells them to weavers. Recycling at it’s finest!!!

I chain them together (a messy linty job best reserved for outdoors) and then wind them onto long stick shuttles for weaving. I intersperse various colors of loopers into groups of chains to make certain color combos for certain rugs. They make such a thick heavy rug that goes PLOP on the floor and does not rumple or wrinkle up.

Once the rug is woven, I need to either tie the fringes in just a knot, or else I use a device called a Fringe Twister to make a ropelike finish with a knot on the end. On this rug, I also beefed up the twists with extra strands of rug warp, to make them a bit thicker and they lay nicer on the floor.

So that is what I do to weave a Birch Tree Rug!

We had such lovely sunshine yesterday streaming through the trees in our woods… along the riverbank. Today the weatherman said someone opened the door to Canada, and we are due for 20 degrees, cold and SNOW…… so this scene won’t last for long!

Now it’s Sunday, and the dogs let us sleep in… how nice of them! Give them a few days of Steve off work, and they forget that 5am is time to get up and see what exciting treats might be in the doggie dish~ LOL

I think it’s gonna be a sock knitting day, and waiting for the snowflakes to fall……

Oh thanks Margie! I just thought I would let my RV friends get a glimpse into what I do in my studio. More about *me* to share!

I take a lot of my fiber arts with me on the road when we travel. I bring a table loom that is able to weave towels and scarves, I bring the sockknitting machine which is very portable too. And my spinning wheel rides easily in the closet, held securely into place with my clothes hanging down around it so it doesn't tip over.

Thanks for sharing your fiber crafts with us. You do beautiful work.I keep looking to see if you got your path report on your tumor to no avail. I hope it turns out good.We are leaving Wednesday AM for winter. We will update our blog as we find internet.Take care and don't speed your recovery to fast. Rest!Have a great winter.Merry Christmas!

Thanks Paula for your kind words. Yes, the big tumor and two other areas of tissues are all BENIGN~~~ What a lovely word, hey? So now it's just healing up the surgical cuts and resting, which is very hard for me to do. I like to go go go and try to get things done.

Have a great escape from the Wisconsin Winters... we will be *trapped* here. But that is ok, we have a new granddaughter coming sometime this week or so, and another coming in January. So we are staying here, no vacations!

I am trying to find your friend or the mill where I can purchase a LOT of loopers but her website doesn't seem to exist anymore. Do you know where I can purchase loopers? I can go to the mill too.Thanks,Patty

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We sold our log home in the woods in 2012, and moved to the tiny community of Chilton, Wisconsin. We are happily married, and now grandparents of seven lovely little people. Jameson, Allegra, Chelsea, Mason, Clayton, Whitney and Claire! Our grown children are an important part of our lives, and they are now bringing children of their own into the world. What a wonderful treat that Grandchildren are!!!
We love to travel in our 38ft Safari Serengeti diesel pusher motohome, with our two Shetland Sheepdogs, Binney and Finnegan guiding our way. The motorhome really belongs to the dogs, we are just allowed to drive it places so they can get out and sniff!
We mostly boondock, utilizing our on board systems and solar panels on the roof. We don't need "No Stinkin' Hook-ups" We prefer to not be jammed in row after row of canned sardine tins like some campgrounds offer.
While on the road, I create my handwoven and knitted items. I am a weaver, spinner, and knitter of socks with an antique sockknitting machine. I sell my items online at www.kareninthewoods.com or in my Etsy store. http://kareninthewoods.etsy.com/
(Our Blog) RVing: The USA is our Big Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com